Love Through A Clear Lens… Hello Hump Day Readers. Last Sunday I was the worship pastor at our Methodist Church in Espanola, NM. I just love being with this church whether I am their musician for the day or preaching. The text that day was 1 John 4:7-8, all about loving one another. To see a group of people who embrace Jesus’ words and do so every day–well, that’s the people in this church and they are amazing.

We live in a society where ethnicities are picked apart, prejudice reigns, struggling folks are laughed at and put down, and it seems hurting one another is acceptable. Those words from 1 John seem to have blown away in the wind. It’s “me-first” and let the others sweat. So I ask “What lens are we using to see other people?” It truly is easy to look at life and people through the lens of our past, our mistakes, our prejudices, and our hurts. Obviously our lens has become dirty and needs to be cleaned up!

So let’s take a look at Jesus, and how he looks through his lens. When I look at the life of Jesus, it’s clear to see He always looked at others through a lens of love, compassion and caring.  Jesus didn’t assume the worst of people; instead he believed the best even though he knows weaknesses, pride, selfishness, anger, etc. Yet, Jesus’ lens looked with love. No matter how difficult or inconvenient the situation, He went to the person in need, ready to share hope and healing and a wonderful dose of grace…like the day he healed 10 lepers…

“Jesus was still pressing toward Jerusalem, taking a road that went along the border between Samaria (considered undesirable territory) and Galilee. On the outskirts of a border town along this road, He was greeted from a distance by a group of 10 people who were under quarantine because of an ugly and disgusting skin disease known as leprosy. “Jesus, Master, show mercy to us!” they shouted.

Jesus replied: Go now and present yourselves to the priests for inspection of your disease. They went, and before they reached the priests, their skin disease was healed, leaving no trace of the disease that scarred them and separated them from the community. One of them, the instant he realized he had been healed, turned and ran back to Jesus, shouting praises to God. He prostrated himself facedown at Jesus’ feet saying “Thank You! Thank You!” Now this fellow happened to be, not a Jew, but a Samaritan! Jesus asked: “Didn’t all ten receive the same healing this fellow did? Where are the other nine? Was the only one who came back to give God praise an outsider? Get up, and go your way. Your faith has made you healthy again.” (Luke 17: 11-19 Voice]

What does this story tell us about Jesus? Exactly what He told the disciples: “My loved ones, let us devote ourselves to loving one another. Love comes straight from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and truly knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God IS love.” [1 John 4:7-8 Voice]

Guess what – we’re called to do the same! It’s time to clean our ‘soul’s eyeglasses! Then we can see through a lens of love and compassion. We can roll-up our sleeves and get involved so more people can come to know this precious saving Savior. The gift of doing this is a game-changer. As we love the people around us, we can be confident God will show up in a powerful way! Don’t hide from sharing goodness, grace, caring and loving. Do what Jesus did: take it on, knowing that the strength you have in your faith will give you the love that you can share. This is a win-win for us and others because we will see people through the loving lens of God and it will definitely make a difference. AMEN.